


Taste of Home

by Icka M Chif (mischif)



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alien Culture, Cursed Apple, Curses, Families of Choice, Fluff, Gen, Grooming, Kissing, Platonic Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-23
Updated: 2013-10-23
Packaged: 2017-12-30 06:43:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1015411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mischif/pseuds/Icka%20M%20Chif
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aster wakes up from a cursed slumber to the taste of fear and darkness in his mouth. The other Guardians help him get rid of it. </p><p>Aka: The Platonic Kissing One.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Taste of Home

**Author's Note:**

> So one of my flatmates was watching a Vsauce video on [Why do we Kiss?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixQbCXLUUj8), (which somehow led to Earth Touch's educational [Wild Sex](http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLprl6grN2nB2DhNqJccISirm7KdZQ30o1) series, the Barnacles are hysterical) and they were talking about how saliva transmits information about the person, and my brain went to a weird place. 
> 
> Moar Alien!Bunny, this time of the family fluff variety, because Science. 
> 
> Thanks to East of the Moon, Lady Nero, and Lady Douji for not minding me flailing about the curse idea in the chat, and Clever Corgi for catching an edit fail.

Aster woke suddenly to the taste of fear and darkness in his mouth. 

He immediately turned to the side and gagged, barely avoiding the urge to reach in and claw his taste buds out to get rid of the taste of rotten apples and stale acidic sweat.

A low chuckle stopped him however, the fur along his spine rising as he recognised the voice. “Can’t say I don’t feel the same.” 

“Pitch.” Aster hissed, glaring up at his old enemy, flexing his claws as he realised that his bandoleer was missing. Where were his boomerangs? Where was he? What was going on? Why was Pitch _so freaking close_?!

“That is enough, Pitch.” North’s voice barked. “You have finished. You know where door is.” 

Pitch rolled his eyes with a scoff. “Fine.” He drawled, leaning back and sashaying out of the room. “Next time you find yourself in a similar situation, please do remember _not_ to call.” 

Aster watched with narrowed eyes as Pitch escorted himself out of the room in North’s Workshop, Pitch’s hands clasped behind his back as if he were going on an evening stroll, Sandy floating behind him like an angry glowing balloon. Tooth went to follow as well, and North barred her way with an arm and a stern look. 

Tooth still had rage issues about her girls being locked up. You did not mess with a momma bird. 

He spotted Phil standing next to the door with a glowing light spear and felt slightly better about Pitch being inside the Workshop, although not by much. Enough to know that it was unlikely that Pitch would be causing any immediate problems. 

As soon as the door shut, Aster made a gagging sound, rubbing his tongue on the roof of his mouth, trying to get the lingering taste out of his mouth. “Alright, ya yobbos.” Aster growled, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “What the hell is goin’ on?” 

Because unless Aster missed his mark, the Boogieman himself, Pitch Black, had just kissed him. 

… He kind of wanted to throw up a little bit. 

The last thing he remembered was everyone gathering at the Workshop to hang out and check up on each other. He’d been a mite peckish and grabbed an apple out of a bowl and… 

He wasn’t sure, but somehow it meant waking up on a bed in the middle of North’s parlour. That was definitely awkward. 

North grabbed a candy cane, licked it, and passed it to Aster. Aster nodded his thanks and as he put the end North had been sucking on in his mouth, the sharp bite of the peppermint momentarily overwhelming the lingering taste of Pitch in his mouth. 

He could taste North as well, spices and awe mixed up with the faint ozone of magic.

Pooka, for all their large size and advanced technology, still preferred to groom themselves rather than dealing with showers, sonics, baths, or any other sort of bathing device. Which meant licking themselves and their family members.

Aster’s sense of taste was elevated, even for a Pooka, for which Aster blamed on his years of being a chocolatier, creating and combining the most delicious and rare confections. Saliva contained a lot of information about how the person was doing, bacteria, hormones, health, and most likely as an Avatar of Spring and New Life, potential compatibility for offspring. 

He didn’t need or want to know that information about Pitch, and replacing it with his pack-brother North was a much preferred alternative. 

Aster had tried to groom North once. _Once_. They’d had a bit to drink, and Aster had forgotten his human manners. There’d been some crossed wires and some punching, and eventually things got explained and figured out, but Aster never tried to groom North to see how he was doing again. 

Speaking of health, he pulled the candy cane out of his mouth. “I’m tellin’ Phil you’ve been sneaking cookies again.” Aster informed North, who waved a dismissive hand back. Aster snorted and shoved the rest of the candy cane in his mouth, crunching down on it. Phil was probably going to put North on a ultra-healthy low-sugar diet for the next few weeks once he heard, North was supposed to be cutting back on the sugar for his memory. 

“And if you don’t, I will.” Tooth smirked, floating down to eye level with Aster. “Glad to see you back with us, Bunny.” She said, giving him a kiss as well. 

Tooth tasted sort of like coffee with a dusting of sandalwood, bitter and sweet at the same time from sorrow and laughter. Memories tended to be a bit of a mixed bag. She was a little stressed at the moment, but otherwise fine. 

“Ta, Toothy.” Bunny grinned, reassured. Pitch could fool the eyes and ears, but he couldn’t trick the taste buds. They were alright. 

Tooth flashed her flat white teeth at him, then floated upwards again, several of her girls swarming around her. “I’ve gotta get back to the Palace, got a bit of catching up to do.” She excused herself. “See you guys later!” 

“Safe travels, my dear.” North waved as Tooth zipped way, walking over to a large chair by the fireplace and settling his bulk in it. “She has been travelling back and forth when she has a free moment. You have been sleeping for almost three days.” 

“Three days?” Aster grimaced, flipping the blankets off his legs. He almost immediately then almost put them back on, the air was a bit chillier and uncomfortable compared to the Warren. However, he was a seasoned fighter, and it wasn’t technically outside his comfort range, so he didn’t. 

Speaking of cold, he spotted Jack perched up near the ceiling with an oddly serious expression on his face. Jack gave Aster a small smile and half wave when he realised Aster had spotted him. Aster nodded back, wondering what had happened as he grabbed his bandolier and put it on, automatically checking that all his weapons were where he put them.

“What happened?” He asked, keeping an eye on Jack as he made his way over to the warmth of the fireplace, feeling the three days of inactivity in his muscles. He almost wanted another nap. The heat helped somewhat. A good run around the Warren with Jack accompanying him would help more, but first he wanted to know what the heck happened first. 

“So.” North said, clapping his hand against a solid thigh. “Long story told shortly, you fell for a trap meant for me.” 

Aster raised an eyebrow. “In yer own house?” 

“Er…” North scratched one ear with a nervous chuckle. “Baba Yaga and I… There has been a bit of… joking, shall we say. Teasing.” 

“Pranking.” Aster deadpanned, reading between the lines of his old friend’s speech. North was one of the most competitive people Aster had ever met, there was no way he would let a game of one-upmanship pass. 

“Yes. That too.” North nodded eagerly, as if Aster figuring out what he wasn’t saying let North off the hook responsibility wise. 

“So what was it?” Aster asked as Sandy returned, looking calm and peaceful. Aster took to mean that Pitch had been successfully evicted from the premises. Sandy waved a hand to Aster, a golden apple appearing above his head. The apple shrunk as a figure picked it up and took a bite, then fell over, little tiny ‘zzz’ coming from the head to note that the person was asleep, not dead. 

“Cursed apple.” Aster groaned, rubbing his forehead. That’s what he got for not checking what he was eating first, even in the safety of a friend’s house. 

He made a lousy Snow White. 

“We removed the apple from your mouth, but you didn’t wake up.” Jack said quietly, almost making Aster startle as he reappeared on Aster’s other side, his posture slightly curled, shepherd's staff tucked against one shoulder. 

“So what did ya do?” Aster asked, wondering how Pitch got involved in all of this. 

Sandy suddenly appeared in front of him, grabbing Aster’s cheek and giving Aster a quick sloppy kiss on the lips before darting away, shoulders shaking in silent mirth. 

“Ta.” Aster said dryly. Sandy didn’t really have saliva, so Aster had no way to tell how he really was doing, but he tasted a lot like his usual spun cotton floss, star shine, and innocence. Sandy was a fierce fighter while riled up, but was strangely naive in many ways, which showed in all the dreams he crafted for the children.

“True love’s ki…” The thought trailed off as his throat closed on the words, wide eyes scanning his friends. No. 

Not just no, _HELL_ No. They did **not** just pull off a ‘True Love’s Kiss’ on him with _Pitch Black_.

Sandy doubled over in silent laughter, and Jack let out a small huff. “No.” North said, twitching with barely restrained amusement. “Not True Love’s Kiss. Mortal _Enemy’s_ Kiss. Much more difficult to obtain, with the proximity and the kissing, yes?” 

“That’s a horrible curse.” Aster muttered, scraping his tongue across his teeth to remove the echo of Pitch’s taste from his mouth.

“Pitch wasn’t much happier about it.” Jack offered with a small mischievous smirk. “Kept complaining about having to scrub fur out of his teeth.” 

Aster mustered up a sneer in return. “Would serve him right.” He sulked. 

“Sadly, we did not discover that this require enemies kiss to awaken until after we have all seen if ours will work.” North informed him, eyes sparkling. 

He barely refrained from slapping his forehead with his hand. The most action he’d gotten in centuries, and it was while he was asleep. 

“Thanks.” Aster offered, then held a hand up. “I don’t know whatcha did ta get Pitch ta do it, and I don’t wanna know, but thanks.” 

“You are most welcome.” North beamed back at him. Sandy flashed him a grin and a thumbs up. 

And Jack… gave more of a quirk of the lips than a smile in return. Aster quirked an ear at him, silently concerned. Jack was generally much more exuberant than this, it was when he got quiet and subdued like this that Aster started to worry.

Thankfully it didn’t happen often, usually when Jack was mulling something over in that frozen brain of his. Aster would knock it free in a bit. 

He was worryingly fond of the brat. 

“Yeti should have food ready shortly.” North said, rising to his feet with a small grunt, his eyes flickering between Jack and Aster in a not entirely subtle hint. Jack’s quietness had been observed, then. “Join us when you are ready.”

Sandy nodded, an image of himself on a cloud appearing above his head. He needed to get back to work. 

Aster nodded, deciding he was going to stay close to the fire for a few minutes longer. “Ta, again.” He waved. Sandy and North returned the gesture as they left, North bellowing for Phil as he went. 

He waited a moment before speaking. “Y’alright there, Frostbite?” Aster asked quietly, turning his head towards the Guardian of Fun and Joy. 

Jack startled for a second, then gave him a sheepish smile. “Yeah, sorry.” Jack ran a hand through his hair, dislodging a couple of snowflakes that quickly melted in the warm air. “Just thinking.“

“Pretty heavy thoughts.” Aster said quietly, reaching over and poking Jack’s forehead. Jack gave a small laugh, ducking away. Jack seemed to almost dance as he moved to Aster’s other side, away from the fireplace. 

“It’s… stupid.” Jack muttered, ducking his head slightly, looking at Aster with those vibrant blue eyes from under the fringe of white hair. Jack glanced away, twirling his staff in a nervous habit. “I just… I’ve never kissed anyone before.” 

Aster blinked. “... Oh.”

He’d never kissed anyone until Aster’s unconscious body…. Aster hid a grimace, the information driving home yet again how alone Jack had been for so long. 

He knew, intellectually, thanks to that misunderstanding with North, that humans viewed kisses differently. Aster hadn’t really paid attention when Tooth had rambled about sweet first kisses, but it was enough to know that it wasn’t a ‘proper’ first kiss for Jack. 

“Trying to figure out if it matters or not.” Jack shrugged a shoulder. “Like I said, it’s stupid.”

“Not if you’re worryin’ about it.” Aster assured him. Wasn’t it supposed to be romantic or something? “And I don’t think it does. Shouldn’t it be with someone ya like-?” 

Jack flinched and turned away. 

Aster froze, staring at Jack. 

Oh. 

… Ohhhhhh. 

Wait…. Huh?

Jack glanced back at him, then did a double take, a startled laugh erupting out of his chest at Aster’s confused look. “Not like that!” Jack waved a hand around in circles. “You’re more like an annoying older brother, than a…” 

Aster nodded, not quite sighing in relief, prompting Jack to laugh again, the somber air he’d been carrying with him vanishing. Aster smiled, glad to see Jack looking like himself again. 

Come to think of it, he didn’t know how Jack tasted. That was a severe oversight, as Jack was part of their strange small warrior-pack now. 

“C’mere.” He motioned Jack closer. Jack gave him a confused tilt of his head, then shuffled closer. Aster took Jack’s hand, tugging him close. “This is how I check on me family.” He explained, then leaned forward, quickly pressing his lips to Jack’s, the tip of his tongue touching Jack’s lips. 

Jack startled, backing up a step and blinking rapidly as he swallowed and stared at Aster. Aster ignored his reaction for a second, analysing how Jack tasted. 

Bit like hot chocolate, sweet and comforting, with a dash of laughter and a sprinkle of snow. Fun and Joy. It was a nice flavour. Aster filed it away for future reference. 

“Ya need ta eat more.” Aster finally said, releasing Jack’s hand to poke his thin belly. “Good stuff, not just occasionally stealin’ stuff outta North’s kitchen. Other than that, you’re doin’ alright.” 

“I…” Jack shook his head, a quick nervous gesture. “Wait... How?” 

“Check up.” Aster pointed to his mouth. Also, that close he could smell the cookies Jack had no doubt stolen while Aster had been sleeping. 

Comprehension dawned on Jack’s face. “So the others...” He breathed with a grin. 

Aster smirked back, rising to his feet, then grimaced as his back popped, protesting the change of position. “M’not human.” He said, doing a small stretch to limber up. “The others accomodate me occasionally.” 

Jack nodded. “I don’t mind.” He offered shyly. 

“Ta.” Aster smiled, then hugged Jack, because hugs were good, and he knew the lad liked them. 

Jack laughed, tucking his head under Aster’s chin as he hugged him back, his staff hitting Aster’s shoulder blade. “I’m glad you’re alright, Kangaroo.” 

“Me too.” Aster agreed into Jack’s hair. He hesitated for a moment, then unable to resist the urge, he licked the top of Jack’s head, the chilled white strands sliding across his tongue to straighten them out. It froze a second after, making Jack’s hair stick up almost like a fan. 

Jack made a funny noise in the back of his throat. “Did you just…. try to _groom_ me?”

“... Maybe.” Aster grumbled. 

Okay. Note to self. No grooming Jack either. 

Dagnabbit. 

-fin-


End file.
